Fantasy sports gaming with promotion and relegation

ABSTRACT

A fantasy sports gaming system and method that uses a multi-tiered promotion and relegation pyramid model structure to reward winners and losers of head to head fantasy sports game league competitions. The promotion and relegation model provides for the league championship winners to compete in a head to head competition for an annual grand championship trophy, accolades, cash rewards and bragging rights.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/458,039 which is incorporated herein in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to fantasy sports gaming. More particularly, the invention relates to a new and innovative structure for fantasy sports gaming comprising a tiered promotion and relegation model.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Fantasy sports gaming which originated in the late 1970's and early 1980's has gained in popularity over the years. In 2009 an estimated 30 million or roughly 11% of North Americans participated in fantasy sports games. The Fantasy Sports Trade Association estimates the current fantasy sports market at 4.48 billion and growing. Participation in a fantasy sports league proffers an individual the opportunity to own and manage a professional sports team; be it football, basketball, baseball, soccer, cricket or other sports.

The advent of the internet allows fans throughout the world to join a league of their choosing with a click of the mouse. League hosting services are provided by Yahoo, ESPN, CBS Sports, Fox MSN. However, none of these market-share leaders offer public-stakes leagues that disseminate monetary prizes to winners. A handful of smaller companies (Gridiron Fantasy Sports, Chicago Fantasy Sports, RTS, FFPC and Krause Inc) host public stakes leagues but charge unreasonable and excessive operating fees (20-30% of entry fee) and funnel a large percentage of each entry fee into a different prize purse altogether. In addition to the inequitable payout structures of these league-hosting websites, customers to the sites are also plagued with inferior web services.

Among the game types and structures within the fantasy gaming industry, the most popular one is the head-to-head contest between two members of the same league. Scoring in a head-to-head contest is based on pre-determined scoring metrics. At the end of the regular season team records are tallied and a predetermined number of teams enter the postseason or playoffs. Number of playoff teams, weeks per playoff round, seeding and bracketing are predetermined. Each respective round eliminates additional teams until two teams are left standing. The remaining two teams then meet in the Finals or the League Championship Game. The winner of this head-to-head matchup is crowned League Champion.

Under the current systems in place, winning the league championship on a head-to-head contest in a public league is the end point for a league member. There is no opportunity for that player to advance to a winner's league and match wits with another head-to-head contest league champion. The only choice available to the winner of the head-to-head contest in a given year is to start from scratch and compete again for the league championship the next year by joining the same league or another public-stakes league. Again, a league championship victory in this next season ends with perhaps a token trophy as in the previous year which in some cases may even be just a virtual trophy. In addition, in a majority of the fantasy sports game hosting websites, the cash rewards are also limited to paltry sums or none at all unless the player is willing to pay a predetermined entry fee or purchase a premium account.

None of the websites hosting fantasy sports leagues currently offer a platform for champions to compete with other champions. Thus there is no meaningful process in place for selecting and celebrating the elite among fantasy players and crowning a grand champion among champions.

Therefore, there is a need in the fantasy sports gaming arena for an innovative structure that makes it possible for winners of league championships in a given year to advance to further levels of competitions through a head-to-head contest with other league champions. In addition, there is also a need for a system that not just rewards winners of head to head contest with virtual trophies, but substantial cash rewards as well. Such a system besides attracting more participants to fantasy sports games will also provide incentives for league champions to further develop their skills and acumen, motivated by the prospect of going head to head with other league champions and pursuing their ultimate goal of becoming the Annual Grand Champion with a coronation that includes a substantial cash purse. The present invention provides such a system and method of fantasy game structure.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a unique and innovative structure that surpasses other fantasy sports gaming structures currently in existence. Through its design of a one-of-a-kind, multi-tiered promotion and relegation model tailored for competition between league champions, the system of the invention is destined to revolutionize the fantasy sports gaming industry. At the heart of the system is the creation of a set of hierarchical leagues that narrows down to a single, elite and exclusive league of champions with the ultimate goal of crowning an Annual Grand Champion who besides a trophy receives a substantial cash prize and bragging rights. Essentially, the design and structure of the promotion and relegation model of the present invention is one that narrows at the top with a cadre of league champions and grows at the bottom with new members and relegated members/managers.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the system comprises leagues with several players/team owners (examples: 14 or 16 team leagues). These leagues, the Pinnacle Leagues, will be formed at the beginning of each season. League entrants will compete in a head-to-head format during the season. At the end of the regular season, a predetermined number of players from each league will qualify for the playoffs. The playoff champions in each league will be crowned league champion. Through the unique multi-tiered design structure of the present invention, the league champions are given a further opportunity to compete against each other for not only trophies, but substantial cash prizes. In this embodiment of the invention, promotion of winners to a higher tier of the pyramid also involves relegation of losers to the lower tiers. The promotion and relegation rules require that team members/managers who make the playoffs and do not win the league are allowed to remain in the same tier the following year, the team members/managers not making the playoffs will be relegated one tier, and the team members/managers winning the league will be promoted one tier. In this embodiment of the invention, only one member/manager in each league wins that particular league championship and is promoted to the next (immediately ascending) tier of the pinnacle pyramid. The members/managers who reach the top pinnacle tier will then compete for the Annual Grand Championship.

In yet another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, as the popularity and usage of the Pinnacle League grows, new levels will be added to the pyramid making ascension to the top a longer but more worthwhile and rewarding journey. As the pool of players grow, so too the rewards, in the form of annual monetary prizes, recognition, celebrity, notoriety, and cachet. Most importantly, there is that self-gratification for these players of having achieved a pre-set goal in their journey to the pinnacle.

In an embodiment of the present invention, to maintain an equal number of teams in all Pinnacle Leagues, some wildcard entrants will be promoted. As well, new fantasy sports members/managers will join the existing pool of players each and every year. The singular goal of each member/manager of a league is to advance through the multi-tiered pyramid to reach the pinnacle and be the grand champion. Thus the unique promotion and relegation model structure of the present invention provides incentives for new players to join the leagues and work towards the Annual Grand Championship which comes with accolades and a substantial purse.

Yet another exemplary embodiment of the present invention is a Fantasy Laboratory that provides an individually customizable system of gaming analytics which allows fantasy sports gamers to examine and analyze every action and decision they have made in their fantasy careers. In this Fantasy Laboratory, individual league settings for each league in which a player participates in, are recorded in a database as, draft order, selections, rules, scoring, waiver acquisitions, trades, weekly scores, etc. The system allows the user to retroactively change previous decisions and demonstrates the outcome or series of outcomes that decision change would have prompted. Players can also socialize with other players in the Fantasy laboratory and exchange barbs as well as tips for playing. Thus the Fantasy Laboratory will be a powerful tool of self analysis as well as statistical evaluation.

The system and website of the present invention through its various embodiments will provide a new and superior suite of league hosting options, including, public stakes leagues (low, moderate, and high stakes), financial services and hosting for private leagues, lowest possible administrative fees and best possible interface. The website of the present invention will appeal to the most experienced and invested fantasy gamers, the novice and casual player, and any sports fan wanting the newest and most comprehensive information regarding the corresponding league and sport such as player contracts, free agent acquisitions, league bargaining status, team needs, draft profiles, state of the franchise reports and more. Pinnacle League members will be invited to share their insights and expertise on draft strategies, team building formulas etc., with new members. Registration with the site would be free and the revenues for funding the Pinnacle Leagues prizes will be generated through advertising and sponsorships.

The foregoing description and summary of the embodiments of the present invention should not be construed to limit the scope of the invention. In this summary of the invention and in the specification in general, the various references to “ exemplary embodiment” “related embodiments,” “yet another embodiment,” or “alternate embodiment” do not all necessarily refer to the same embodiment(s). Rather, these references in general mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least some embodiments, but not necessarily all embodiments of the invention. The features and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention as described in the summary of the invention will be further appreciated and will become obvious to one skilled in the art when viewed in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, detailed description of the invention and the appended claims. It should be also be understood and obvious to one skilled in the art that the embodiments thus described may be further modified without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective comparison between the Fantasy Peak Pinnacle League of the present invention to other fantasy gaming websites.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart depicting the commonly practiced procedures and steps employed by the popular fantasy gaming websites for enrolling and participating in a fantasy sports league.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart depicting the process and steps involved in enrolling and participating in the fantasy sports games of the Fantasy Pinnacle League website.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart describing the steps involved in the head to head contest between members of the same league and outcomes of playoff's between league winners and between league champions for the annual grand championship of the Fantasy Peak Pinnacle League.

FIG. 5 is a flow cart of the exemplary embodiment of the promotion and relegation model pyramid structure of the Fantasy Peak Pinnacle League website.

FIG. 6 depicts the framework of the fantasy laboratory of the Fantasy Peak Pinnacle League and its customizable system of gaming analytics and self analysis.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is an improvement over other fantasy sports gaming systems. Through its multi-tiered promotion and relegation model tailored for head to head competition between league champions, it provides an opportunity for the best of the best to compete further for an Annual Grand Championship trophy. Unlike the other fantasy gaming websites where the league champions and new managers and players have to start from the bottom of the pyramid season after season and year after year in the hope of becoming league champions again for a token trophy, the promotion and relegation model of the present invention allows the league champions to further compete head to head with each other for an Annual Grand Championship trophy which in most cases also includes substantial cash prizes and bragging rights.

Referring now to the figures, more particularly to FIG. 1, the figure shows a perspective comparison between some of the popular fantasy gaming sites frequented by fantasy sports gaming aficionados and the Fantasy Peak Pinnacle League website 20 of the present invention. The market-share leaders such as Yahoo, ESPN, CBS Sports, and FOX MSN fantasy sports game websites 10 a do not offer public-stakes leagues that disseminate monetary prizes to winners of league playoffs. Rather, their goal is to crown a league champion 9 and send the champion away with at best a token trophy. Similarly, other fantasy sports websites such as Gridiron FS, Chicago FS, RTS, FFPC Krause Inc., 10 b may offer a modicum of cash rewards to winners in a public-stakes league, but use at least 20 to 30% of the entry fee charges towards operating costs and the rest to reward only the season's league champion 9. In comparison, the Fantasy Peak Pinnacle gaming website 20 through its unique multi-tiered promotion and relegation model makes it possible for the league champion 9 to compete head to head with other league champion winners to aim for the coveted, Annual Grand Champion trophy which comes with substantial cash prizes and the accolades to go along with the win.

FIG. 2 is an example of the processes and procedures followed in a typical prior art 10 fantasy sports gaming website. A fantasy sports game enthusiast such as a fantasy sports manager or a player visits one of the popular fantasy sports game websites 1, registers, pays any fees due and embarks on his/her adventure of engrossing themselves in the season's fantasy sports games. The fantasy sports game manager or a rookie player creates their own league 2 and chooses their own league score settings 4 or joins an existing league 3 which may be a custom league 3 a or a public league 3 b. The next step for both parties is to create a team 5 and then acquire players through draft or auction 6, play through the season 7, play through the playoffs 8 with the ultimate goal of crowning a league champion 9. At this point the losers scuttle away and the league champion with his or her trophy and perhaps some paltry cash disappears till the next season to come back and try to capture the league championship again. With this model of fantasy sports gaming, there is no incentive for players and managers to achieve anything beyond the league championships each and every season. There is essentially no meaningful process in place for selecting and celebrating the elite among the fantasy sports game players and managers by crowning a grand champion among champions.

In contrast to the FIG. 2 prior art, FIG. 3 shows the general architecture of the system and method for playing fantasy sports games using the Fantasy Pinnacle League website 20 protocol. The initial steps for the process is similar to the prior art, but diverge after the point of crowning the league champion. Referring now to FIG. 3 a flow chart is shown depicting the process and steps involved in enrolling and participating in the fantasy sports games offered by the Fantasy Pinnacle League website. A Fantasy sports manager or player visits the Fantasy Pinnacle League website in step 20 a. The manager joins the Pinnacle League 20 b after which he or she chooses league score settings 20 c and creates a team 20 b. In the next step 20 e players are acquired through draft or auction. Play is continued through the season 20 f and through the playoffs 20 g at the end of which a league champion is crowned 20 h just like in the prior art. However, unlike the prior art, the game does not end here. Rather, the Pinnacle League players have the additional thrill and anticipation of capturing the trophy of all trophy's, the Annual Grand Championship trophy along with added cash bonuses and accolades by participating in the league of champions contest 20 i where they but heads with other league champions and a lucky player gets crowned the Annual Grand Champion 20 j.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart describing the steps involved in the head to head contest between members of the same league and outcomes of playoff's between league winners and between league champions for the annual grand championship of the Fantasy Peak Pinnacle League in one embodiment of the present invention. Leagues of 14 to 16 players called the Fantasy Pinnacle Leagues 30 are formed at the beginning of each season. League entrants then compete 31 in a head to head contest between two members of the same league. The next step is playoffs 32 between head to head contest league winners. Each league then crowns a league champion 33. The league champions get together and engage in an additional head to head contest 34 between them and the winner of that competition is crowned the Annual Grand Champion 35.

FIG. 5 exemplifies the multi-tiered promotion and relegation model pyramid structure of the present invention which is tailored for competition among league champions. In this embodiment, the building of the promotion and relegation model of the present invention starts with managers and players joining one of the Fantasy Pinnacle Leagues 100 and winning the league championship. The pinnacle league champion playoff winners 120 are promoted to a higher tier 140 of the multi-tiered pyramid and enter a head to head competition with other league championship playoff winners for the coveted Annual Grand Champion title 200. Promotion of the pinnacle league championship winners 120 to the higher tier 140 also garners these winners' trophies 180 and cash prizes 160 besides accolades and bragging rights. The ultimate accolade and bragging rights go to the Annual Grand Champion 200 who gets to sit on the thrown at the pinnacle of the pyramid.

In this embodiment of the invention, promotion of winners 120 to a higher tier 140 of the pyramid also involves relegation of pinnacle league champion losers 80 to the lower tiers 60. The promotion and relegation rules require that team members/managers who qualified for the playoffs, but did not win the league are allowed to remain in the lower tier 40 and try for the champion playoff winner trophies and the coveted grand champion 200 title the next season. In a related embodiment of the invention, as the popularity and usage of the Fantasy Pinnacle League grows, new levels will be added to the pyramid, making ascension to the pinnacle a longer, but nevertheless, a more worthwhile and rewarding journey. As the pool of players grow, so too the rewards in the form of monetary prizes, recognition, celebrity, notoriety, and cachet. In yet another related embodiment of the invention, to maintain an equal number of teams in all pinnacle leagues, some wild card entrants will be promoted.

FIG. 6 depicts the framework of the fantasy laboratory 300 of the Fantasy Peak Pinnacle League 20 and its customizable system of gaming analytics and self analysis. All pinnacle league members are given the opportunity to have their gaming strategies analyzed by the fantasy laboratory and provided with individually customizable gaming analytics and self analysis. This system allows fantasy sports gamers to examine and analyze every action and decision they have made in their fantasy game careers. The fantasy laboratory is comprised of an individual league settings database 300 a which records and stores individual league settings for each league a player participates in as , draft order, selections, rules, scoring, waiver, acquisitions, trades, weekly scores and other such parameters. The system allows the user to retroactively change previous decisions and demonstrates the outcome or series of outcomes that decision change would have prompted. Thus the Fantasy Laboratory will be a powerful tool of self analysis as well as statistical evaluation. Players can also socialize with other players in the Fantasy laboratory and exchange barbs as well as tips for playing.

The foregoing description of the invention through its figures and preferred embodiments should not be construed to limit the scope of the invention. It should be understood and obvious to one skilled in the art that the embodiments of the invention thus described may be further modified without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the claims that follow. 

1. A fantasy sports gaming system, the system comprising: a fantasy sports gaming website hosting a plurality of fantasy sports games; a webpage and database; a server connecting a plurality of fantasy sports managers and players to the fantasy game hosting website; means for creating fantasy game teams; means for choosing league score settings; means for acquiring players through draft or auction; means for league championships; means for competition between league championship winners through a promotion and relegation pyramid model; and means for crowning an annual grand champion.
 2. The fantasy sports gaming system of claim 1 wherein the fantasy game teams are created by the fantasy sports managers and players registering on the fantasy sports gaming website.
 3. The fantasy sports gaming system of claim 1 wherein the fantasy sports managers and players choose their own league scoring settings for their teams.
 4. The fantasy sports gaming system of claim 1 wherein the fantasy sports managers and players acquire players for their teams through draft or auction.
 5. The fantasy sports gaming system of claim 1 wherein the league championships are determined by head to head contest between players within each league.
 6. The fantasy sports gaming system of claim 1 wherein competition between league championship winners through the promotion and relegation pyramid model is by promotion of league competition winners to the upper tier of the pyramid, and relegation of league championship losers to the lower tier of the promotion and relegation pyramid model.
 7. The fantasy sports gaming system of claim 1 wherein the crowning of the annual grand champion is through a head to head competition between league championship winners.
 8. The fantasy sports gaming system of claim 1 wherein the fantasy sports managers and players have the opportunity to have individually customizable gaming analytics created and self analysis performed through the fantasy laboratory.
 9. A fantasy sports gaming method, the method comprising: a fantasy sports manager or player visiting a fantasy sports gaming website; joining a fantasy game league offered by the website; choosing league scoring settings; creating a fantasy sports game team; acquiring players through draft or auction; playing through the season; playing through the playoffs; crowning a league champion; entering a league championship contest; promotion of winners and relegation of losers through a multi-tiered promotion and relegation model pyramid structure; and crowning an annual grand champion.
 10. The fantasy sports gaming method of claim 9 wherein a league champion is crowned by having a head to head competition between two members of the same league.
 11. The fantasy sports gaming method of claim 9 wherein the league championship winners are promoted to the upper pinnacle tier of the promotion and relegation model pyramid structure and the losers are relegated to the lower tier of the promotion and relegation model pyramid structure.
 12. The fantasy sports gaming method of claim 9 wherein the annual grand champion is crowned by having a head to head competition between league championship winners who reach the upper pinnacle tier of the promotion and relegation model pyramid structure.
 13. The fantasy sports gaming method of claim 9 wherein in order to maintain an equal number of teams in all the leagues some wild card entrants may be promoted to the upper tier of the promotion and relegation model pyramid structure.
 14. The fantasy sports gaming method of claim 9 wherein the managers and players have an opportunity to have individually customizable gaming analytics created and self analysis performed through the fantasy laboratory. 